This invention relates to a receptacle connector for mating with a cable connector, and, more particularly, to a receptacle connector adapted for mounting in electronic equipment and which is provided with a locking frame for mating with a cable connector.
Cable connectors must often times mate with and lock to receptacle connectors mounted or built into electronic equipment. FIG. 1 shows, for example, such a cable assembly. A cable connector 1 is provided with a housing 2 of insulating material provided with resilient cantilevered latching members 3. The receptacle connector 4 has a housing 4a of insulating material with upright free wall parts 7 and 8 which are separated by a distance away from a central part 5 provided with contact plug sockets 6. Between these upright wall parts 7 and 8 and the central part 5 is a space adapted to receive a collar 12 of the cable connector 1. Within this collar 12 are pin contacts (not shown) which will be received by the plug sockets 6. When the cable connector 1 is inserted into the receptacle connector 4, detents or bosses 9 on the end of the latching members 3 are first pressed inwards by the upright walls 7 and 8. When the cable connector is fully seated in the receptacle connector, the bosses 1 spring back into the recesses 10 and 11 to latch the connectors together.
Receptacle connectors mounted or built into electronic equipment cannot however, always be provided with the free upright peripheral wall parts 7 and 8. Such built-in receptacle connectors 4 in fact may have a surrounding collar 12 such as shown in FIG. 2 which must be fed in a close fit through an aperture in a wall of the electrical equipment and then mounted. The built-in receptacle connector 4 of FIG. 2 surrounds the pin contacts 14. Such a built-in receptacle connector can also be in the form shown in FIG. 1 with plug sockets but without the free upright wall parts 7 and 8. There are also other applications for which the wall parts 7 and 8 cannot be used.